First you need to define cruising. As a coastal liveaboard cruiser, a lot of the items (like watermakers) aren't of interest. On the other hand if you are doing a lot of offshore passages and staying in isolated areas without access to clean safe shoreside water, watermaker might move up on the list.

For us:
- Shallow Draft as so many cool places are less than 5' deep and in busy anchorages, it may only be the shallows that are open. Plus we like to anchor for the day in shallow areas where we can get in the water but still stand up.
- Modern amenities (air/con, sat TV, microwave, etc...): We have no desire to camp for months at a time.

In terms of gear I would have to say a water maker, but what's most important is having someone to share the experience with. I enjoy single handed sailing, but think I would tire quickly of single handed cruising.

Our ability to repair things, without it, we could not live aboard and cruise.Solar panels, a good watermaker, and a way to manage, observe power use and generation.
Good refrigeration, you dont need it to live but it makes life and storing perishables better.
We have but almost never run our generators.

Good dinghy and an engine you can count on. We prefer 2 strokes for ease of maintenance and use a fuel water separator.
Love love love the little $99. Ice makers 9 cubes every 6 minutes, they are great and draw about 4 amps.

each time out you need different things.
each boat needs different things.
each person sailing needs different things. it all depends on your boat and you, no two cruising boats needs same items. all are different.
figger out what in your boat is weak point, and bring spares.
this time i am in need of bringing my mechanic, and a good bailing bucket and a masthead catcher. other than that,.........

always have extra filters. always. oil and fuel. you will need both. i also carry spare water pump. spare belts.
bring spare shroud, if your rig is over 10 yrs in age.
the stuff you stow on deck is individual. fuel is a good idea unless you have capacity for 1000 miles range.engineoil, as you need to change every 100 hours. you would be surprised how fast 100 hours goes away at 3 kts hourly...
as for watermaker--those are good ideas despite availability of fresh potable water on your trip.

I think water, food, sailing gear and such items as 'given' one way or another depending of one's preferences and circumstances.
Thinking about one item (not found in most boats) I'd vote for a good bearing compass.

Item one: the Shower. Not having one. And not about being clean, which I can achieve with water, soap and a sponge. It is about not getting the relaxation that comes from sitting for minutes on end under uninterrupted supply of warm water. To put it short: get huge water tanks and a watermaker and a boat with a shower stall that can be used in anything but a typhoon.

Item two: the Internet. Not having one. Not being able to look up NOAA files, fish and weed names on Wiki, listen to that one specific song, check up on progress of our fave directors, writers and adventurers. Solution: digitize and download heaps prior to departure and / or invest in offshoreInternet kit.

A couple of thoughts. On RO water no I don't mind it, that was my buddy's thoughts. Personally like RO. Having spend some time both cruising and staying with friends on the hook long term, good source of dependable water is way more important than many believe. How you power that varies, but as I don't want to burn dinosaurs (diesel) to make .25 water,solar is where I am going. As far as complicated systems, no I am not a fan of them. Separate autopilot from gps/chart means if one fails it doesn't take both out. On a past cruise our ssb receiver didn't perform nearly where I would accept it to. Now we did install a true ssb transceiver but is it really needed these days? Time will tell. And no, I don't have dishwasher and other power boat style living.

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We are not hippies at all . . . It is just that stuff breaks much more frequently at sea (that ashore) and is much harder to (properly) fix.

I liked this, "we're not hippies at all" statement, but I can't say that I really know what that means. I noticed that a following post suggested that the good life aboard requires being able to stand under a flowing hot shower and having more stuff. Well then, maybe we're "hippies"! We can relax by dumping buckets of salt water over us,- soaping down,- and rinsing with cups of fresh water. Much of what we find as necessary for the "good life" is not related to having a lot of stuff, but I do agree with Evans that I need to have what stuff that I rely upon being well installed and maintained. I'm better suited with a 5" screen on my GPS than a 24" screen chart plotter. I rather sleep on 6" foam over marineplywood than on a mattress. I rely on my radar, but I don't see any need for color. We cruised for our first twenty years without a depth sounder or refrigeration and did not miss them.

Btw thank you all for the comments and such. I posted the question originally as we are planning to take off cruising this coming fall after a nearly 8 yr refit/upfit/are u nuts fit. Several friends are already there and keep asking are u really going to do it this year. One curse of the job I work is seeing when **** goes bad it goes really bad so can u say redundant? I had to stop and ask myself how much is too much?

My old ocean sailing tutor friend imported a 41' from Taiwan to Detroit in 1975...took the summer off and sailed the Great Lakes by himself with no experience. In the spring of 1976 he told unbelieving people he was leaving for the Bahamas...He chopped his dock lines with a fire axe and left them hang...something fitting for you to consider...one of my most cherished true stories...cheers

I enjoy the quality and information within your post, but there's one puzzlement. If someone is accustomed to the taste of minerals in their drinking water, then I can understand that they may not enjoy RO drinking water, but it is pure water and of good quality. You mention the benefits of a watermaker, but it's important to recognize that watermakers produce "RO" (reverse osmosis) water. If you're buying RO water or buying equipment to make RO water, it's really the same thing. The decision is whether you will be isolated from drinking water sources that make the watermakers economic.

Exactly. I noticed the same inconsistency. And as for "RO" water "sucking" for drinking. It doesn't. RO water from seawater is among the sweetest and most drinkable waters anywhere. I love it. If it isn't there is something wrong with the watermaker filters…

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